Looking Ahead to the 2027 NFL Draft

Dutch Oven

Remember the name Darian Mensah, he might be the guy who shoots up the draft like Francisco Mendoza last year.

Also remember you heard about him here first... ?

Flugel

@dutch-oven said:
Remember the name Darian Mensah, he might be the guy who shoots up the draft like Francisco Mendoza last year.
Also remember you heard about him here first... ?

Well done! If ACC opponents weren't ready for him at Duke last year, just think how much fun they're going to have facing him as the Miami Hurricanes QB this year.

tiamat63

@dutch-oven said:
Remember the name Darian Mensah, he might be the guy who shoots up the draft like Francisco Mendoza last year.
Also remember you heard about him here first... ?

Funny part is McShay is already behind. I'm on game 8 and I'm finding he really isn't a special passer.

The physical tools are all there. He could use a little more healthy weight on his frame. I'm finding there are flashes of ability, but those are matched with flashes of full DERP. I can't have 1:1's with my QB1. I'm not saying growth as a processor isn't possible along with the Mendoza-like rise; Mensah is going to Miami, after all. I'm also not going to say I'm in love with some of the play call structure by the Duke coaches.

But a "special passer" Mensah is not.

Dutch Oven

@tiamat63 said:
Funny part is McShay is already behind. I'm on game 8 and I'm finding he really isn't a special passer.
The physical tools are all there. He could use a little more healthy weight on his frame. I'm finding there are flashes of ability, but those are matched with flashes of full DERP. I can't have 1:1's with my QB1. I'm not saying growth as a processor isn't possible along with the Mendoza-like rise; Mensah is going to Miami, after all. I'm also not going to say I'm in love with some of the play call structure by the Duke coaches.
But a "special passer" Mensah is not.

Wait… I thought you were fully on the Mensah Train? In fact, I thought you were the conductor!

I’m starting to think Tia if you had a draft big board you’d have like two guys with first round grades ?

tiamat63

@dutch-oven said:
Wait… I thought you were fully on the Mensah Train? In fact, I thought you were the conductor!

I see flashes of potential and I see great things. However, consistency is key and without it my evaluation(s) change. We often highlight those flashes while some of the negatives can be more cleverly masked. The issue I've found with trying to be "hyper efficient" in film watching is that attempt of radical efficiency means those subtle details, the masked ones, are harder to perceive when the primary goal is to be First & Loudest* (* = Trademark pending)

I'm also fluid in my assessments of anything when I receive new information. I watched a handful of games and found some awesome material. Then I began watching more, in a linear sequence of the season, which revealed deficiencies that need serious improvement. That improvement also means to be improved with consistent application. Otherwise, there is an argument that improvement isn't made.

Bruce Lee - "Be water, my friend"

@dutch-oven said:
I’m starting to think Tia if you had a draft big board you’d have like two guys with first round grades ?

Year over Year, that'd be one of the more accurate things you could say. A lot of players are pushed into 1st round value because of shallow positional availability.

ballpeen

It's always been that way. You have 32 first round picks. Somebody is going to be selected in one of those slots. I don't see teams deciding to not make a selection because they don't think a player is worth the slot .

Orion

@ballpeen said:
I don't see teams deciding to not make a selection because they don't think a player is worth the slot .

SCREW IT !! WE AREN'T DRAFTING IN ROUND 1 !! AIN'T NOBODY WORTH 1ST ROUND MONEY !!

Flugel

@dutch-oven said:
Remember the name Darian Mensah, he might be the guy who shoots up the draft like Francisco Mendoza last year.
Also remember you heard about him here first... ?

I know defenses in the ACC won't forget his name heading into this year. Having said that.... let's also keep in mind that last year at this time - Todd McShay had a glue-sniff high on Cade Klubnik per cut and paste below:

Flugel

@dutch-oven said:
Remember the name Darian Mensah, he might be the guy who shoots up the draft like Francisco Mendoza last year.
Also remember you heard about him here first... ?

Like Mensah (heading to the U), Sam Leavitt is another QB heading to a place like LSU that can quickly spoil a passer with a lot of elite talent on the perimeter to help him shine. If he can stay healthy for an entire season - we've aleady seen what a guy like Fernando Mendoza accomplished moving from a program at Cal to Indiana.

Sam Leavitt

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Image of Sam Leavitt - Football - Michigan State University Athletics

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Sam Leavitt - LSU Tigers Quarterback - ESPN

SamLeavitt · LSU Tigers · #10 · QB. Class. Junior. HT/WT. 6' 2", 216 lbs. Birthplace. West Linn, OR. Follow. 2025 season stats. YDS. 1,628.

Age

21 years

Dec 20, 2004

Analysts are already predicting a stacked 2027 NFL Draft class, with Leavitt listed as a top prospect.

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How do you feel about @McShay13 way too early 2027 Draft QB Rankings ? 1. Dante Moore 2. LaNorris Sellers 3. Sam Leavitt T4. CJ Carr T4. Arch Manning 6. Darian Mensah 7. Trinidad Chambliss 8. Nico Iamaleava 9. Julian Sayin 10. Brendan Sorsby 11. Jayden Maiava 12. John Mateer

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5 days ago

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Orion · Dec 20, 2004

@flugel said:
How do you feel about

We're in a Groundhog Day of seasons where we have to evaluate the current roster of QB's to see if the long term starter is among them...and yet evaluate the college QB class in case we absolutely need to make a run at one of them.

Flugel

@orion said:
We're in a Groundhog Day of seasons where we have to evaluate the current roster of QB's to see if the long term starter is among them...and yet evaluate the college QB class in case we absolutely need to make a run at one of them.

Agreed & I hear ya! This was respite from countless redundant posts/articles/Cleveland media shows comparing notes on Sanders vs Watson. YES, we know Monken has a decision to make about who wins the starting that would be absurd to make before both have access to our best Receivers and Pass Protectors. 1 problem, or better put - the best Receivers and Pass Protectors won't emege until Training Camp (only if it is actually that fast).

For the "in case we absolutely need to make a run at one of them" - well, think of the year (2025) we had the 2nd overall pick. Was there ENOUGH supply at #2 overall for our demand of the best possible QB prospect? So, what happened? We traded back to #5 overall before trading back up into round 5 later for Sanders (previously touted as a 1st round draft pick by many NFL Draft Analysts paid well fo their research/opinions ie; McShay & Kiper as well as both Draft Magazines I purchased that look to their experts/draft analysts). HOWEVER, the Browns decided they would outsmart everyone by drafting a QB in round 3 that needs a mobile step stool under him to see past the line of scimmage. I'm not smart enough to be able to make up stories like this so here we are. I will say this, even though the speed of Sanders' processor was a big concern for the adaptation to the speed of the NFL game - the perceived/potential distraction of his father "PRIMETIME" had many teams in need not interested in taking that on. As we saw, Deion Sanders was never a problem so it'll be interesting to see if Monken can expedite Shedeur's processing speed despite all his critics cautioning that is not possible.

Face it, we need more than 1 NFL Franchise type of QB to emerge in college football in 2026 to improve our chances of drafting one. In order to make Cleveland a much more attractive place for next year's draft class of QBs to consider - the 2026 draft added receiving weapons, 3 OL prospects the Browns are excited about as well as 2 dual purpose TEs. Aside from that, we know the Browns signed veteran OL starters (in particular, OT Tytus Howard was a previous 1st round pick from Alabama State giving me prematue warm fuzzies). If all goes well... ?

Dutch Oven

Flugel

@dutch-oven said:
>
THIS will be the most significant part of our football season this year - watching as many top 2027 QB prospects as we can. Not that there's anything wrong with it. My wife gets so proud of the plaque she gave me a while ago that reads: "We interrupt this marriage to bring you football season."
Yeah, we'll watch the Browns but how many more years/decades do we have to continue watching this insanity? As I posted this weekend, we have never won a playoff game at home in the current stadium dating back to 1999 and it's conceivable we never will (with only 2-3 years emaining there). As bad as that sounds, you further clarified the Browns have never even HOSTED a playoff game in the stadium.

ballpeen

Soon enough these players will begin to build their case.

Dutch Oven

@ballpeen said:
Soon enough these players will begin to build their case.

It's going to be an interesting year of college football this season regarding the QB class.

Who will be this year's Mendoza? At this point last year he was a guy that people occasionally brought up as a sleeper, then he exploded onto the national stage.

ballpeen

@dutch-oven said:
It's going to be an interesting year of college football this season regarding the QB class.
Who will be this year's Mendoza? At this point last year he was a guy that people occasionally brought up as a sleeper, then he exploded onto the national stage.

Who knows? If it happens at all, it will start to unfold by mid October.

Dutch Oven

Dutch Oven

Ibleedbrown · Dec 20, 2004

@flugel said:
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How do you feel about @McShay13 way too early 2027 Draft QB Rankings ? 1. Dante Moore 2. LaNorris Sellers 3. Sam Leavitt T4. CJ Carr T4. Arch Manning 6. Darian Mensah 7. Trinidad Chambliss 8. Nico Iamaleava 9. Julian Sayin 10. Brendan Sorsby 11. Jayden Maiava 12. John Mateer

I have no idea who Nico Iamaleava is, but when l saw her face, now Iamaleava.

Dutch Oven

@ibleedbrown said:
I have no idea who Nico Iamaleava is, but when l saw her face, now Iamaleava.

He played at Tennessee when Ohio State ran all over them in the playoffs after the 2024 regular season. The Volunteer fans talked a lot of shit about taking over the Shoe, their players walked out of the tunnel during warmups shirtless in the freezing night weather, then they got absolutely trucked. Iamaleava got hit so hard when he tried to leave the pocket that his helmet got cracked, then he started demanding a ton of NIL money and left for UCLA of all places.

I'm not Flugs, nor do I play him on TV, but I'm still intrigued by Lenorris Sellers of South Carolina. I love his measurables. Big arm, can run, built like a brick shithouse... but good lord, his offense was hooooooooooooorrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiibbbbbbbbbbbbbbble last season. Bad scheme, bad OLine, just bad. I'm kind of shocked he didn't leave and go to Miami or somewhere that loves them some one-year rental transfer QBs.

I suppose I'm solidly in the Moore camp, but I don't love any specific QB as of today. McShay didn't even rank the kid at OK State? Weird. Drew Mestamaker is definitely someone I'm keeping an eye on this season, but he doesn't have to come out. He's a redshirt sophomore, who didn't even start at QB his senior year at high school.